Emotional Eating from Self-Defeat

Eating from Self-Defeat is what I like to think of as Self-sabotage #5 and it’s more common than you might think! Have you ever noticed how often we self-sabotage our eating out of our own self-defeating thoughts?

“I might as well have the brownie because I can’t lose weight anyway!”

“I can never be as slender as I want, so I’ll order the pizza and fries.”

Often times we are so quick to give up, give in, and eat what will make us feel better right now in the short term. Forget the long run, that seems too daunting. Right now we feel less-than, undeserving, unworthy, and we are wallowing in our self-defeat.

Our own complicity in eating in self-defeat

When we feel this way we must recognize our own complicity in our role of seeing the world through this lens. It’s kind of like Eeyore from Winnie-the-Pooh. He just can’t see the bright side, no matter what. When we get stuck in an attachment to self-defeat we become the same way. We get so used to thinking we don’t deserve better that we don’t give ourselves anything better.

Eating from self-defeat (or a place of rejection) keeps us stuck in this same place. We may feel chronically hurt and judged by others. We might feel like we never fit in. When we are looking through this lens, we are continually comparing ourselves to others. It’s easy to fall into eating when we are stuck in this mindset. It’s the “what the heck” attitude. “I never measure up anyway, so I might as well eat the triple cheeseburger and be happy.”

Stuck in the cycle of eating from self-defeat

The problem, of course, is that the more we self-sabotage our eating from this feeling of defeat, the more we unconsciously strengthen our attachment to feeling defeated. It becomes a never-ending thought pattern, which we recycle and reuse over and over especially in times of stress.

The Fix

Once again, the first trick is to recognize what we are doing. When we begin to see that we are viewing our world through this veil of self-defeat, we can begin to change our response. Do you ever sabotage your eating because of feelings of self-defeat or failure? Let me know. Leave a comment. If you want more help ending self-sabotage with eating, come over to my website and sign up for my free online 3-Lesson email course.

Author: Staley Sednaoui, MS

Staley’s goal is to teach her clients the underlying foundations of functional nutrition, individualized for each person, so that they are motivated and educated to make changes and, as a result, enjoy long lasting improved health.

Staley's goal is to teach her clients the underlying foundations of functional nutrition, individualized for each person, so that they are motivated and educated to make changes and, as a result, enjoy long lasting improved health.

Staley's goal is to teach her clients the underlying foundations of functional nutrition, individualized for each person, so that they are motivated and educated to make changes and, as a result, enjoy long lasting improved health.